Not So Secret Santa
by SplendentGoddess
Summary: Sequel to Secret Santa! How are our favorite hanyou and miko doing one year into their relationship, and how is life treating them at the Shikon Weekly magazine? Come take another glimpse into their world as Christmas time roles back around. One-shot


A/N:

Merry Christmas! As my summary explained, this one-shot is a sequel to last year's AU Christmas tale, Secret Santa. If you have not yet read Secret Santa then I strongly recommend doing so prior to reading this story. Enjoy!

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~ Not So Secret Santa ~

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Clicking away at her keyboard, Kagome made sure not to lose track of time, her blue-gray eyes drifting down to the clock on the bottom right-hand corner of her computer screen every few sentences as she worked on posting answers to the newest 'Dear Kagome' questions on their magazine's website. Inuyasha would probably be texting her in about five minutes or so, and so she wanted to get the current answer she was writing finished and posted before it was time to break for lunch.

"Hey, girl." came Sango's voice from behind, as the senior editor to Shikon Weekly approached her best friend's desk and leaned against it. "Inuyasha meeting you for lunch today?" she asked conversationally.

Sango knew their resident hanyou always tried to take his girlfriend to lunch whenever possible, but the life of a paparazzi was unpredictable at times, and so while he hadn't been able to promise Kagome that he would always lunch with her he _had_ promised her that he would always text her at lunch time with either a yes or no answer. If he couldn't leave his post 'cause he was holed up in some divine spot just waiting for the perfect shot then he knew Kagome would understand; the miko had promised him back on that very first morning when they'd finally left the bedroom to enjoy her homemade breakfast that she would not let their personal relationship interfere with their work, and vice versa. So far, nearly one entire year later, the hanyou and miko were not only still in a steady and committed relationship, but Kagome had since moved out of her old apartment and into Inuyasha's, the two of them living together for the last nine months now, and they couldn't be happier.

"Don't know yet." Kagome answered, still typing away. "But he should be texting me in about..." she glanced at the clock again... "Two minutes."

Sango nodded her understanding, even though the miko didn't see it, Kagome's attention once again focused on the last few sentences she was trying to get written. Reading over Kagome's shoulder what she was writing in reply to the posted question about whether or not a woman should give her cheating husband a second chance, Sango glanced down at the pair of rings on her finger with a contented smile. She knew that a cheating husband was not something she would ever have to worry about.

The same night Kagome and Inuyasha had gotten together she and her long-time boyfriend Miroku had had a monumental change in their relationship status, too. Kagome had been right when she'd teased her at last year's Christmas party that she'd just been waiting until Christmas Eve to finally accept Miroku's proposal, her special Christmas present to him. Going over to spend the night at his apartment, as she'd done on a few previous occasions over the years, the part-time taijiya had known, _especially _with it being Christmas Eve, that Miroku was bound to pop the question yet again, as he'd tended to do every time she spent the night with him. Like clockwork, after finishing up the fabulous dinner he had prepared for her he'd then stretched his arms out across the table to grab her hands in his, meeting her gaze with a look of tender love and devotion in his deep, puce colored eyes. In that moment he had spoken the same words he'd said to her many times before, but then when he was through Sango had had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at the shocked look on his face when she'd told him _Yes_, she would _love _to become his wife and bear his children.

Miroku had not whisked her away to elope right then and there as he had teasingly told Rin he would do on the teenager's first day interning for their magazine, but he _had _scrambled to his feet and to the top drawer of his bedroom dresser for the diamond ring he had purchased for Sango over two years prior. Of course, Sango hadn't been especially surprised to see him reemerge from his bedroom with a velvet ring box in hand, having suspected that he'd already gotten one at some point, but her eyes had still widened a bit despite herself when he'd dropped down to one knee before her to open the lid and present the ring properly; it was _gorgeous_. And now, it had its life-mate, just as she had her own life-mate, the engagement and wedding rings being of the type that were designed to fit into each other so that wearing the two rings together wouldn't feel as cumbersome.

Even though she and Miroku hadn't run off to get married right then and there on that night before Christmas it had in fact been a relatively short engagement, as they'd gotten married less than two months later, on Valentine's Day. Miroku had joked that it was so he wouldn't have to remember a new date on top of the other ones he already had to remember, but she'd known he was only kidding and so the remark hadn't spoiled the romance for her, and Miroku had proven himself a good man, and a good husband, ever since, immediately dropping all of his flirtatious teasing around the office, at least with anyone other than the woman who now permanently shared an apartment with him and bore his last name. Once Sango had let him put a ring on her finger it was as if he had been a warrior who'd just won a mighty battle, and he'd proudly become a publicly recognized one-woman man, boasting joyously to whoever would listen of how he had captured the heart of the lovely Sango, never to set it free ever again.

Said newlywed was pulled from her musings when the cell phone sitting out on Kagome's desk suddenly chimed with an incoming text message.

Pushing the 'submit content' button on the bottom of the screen, Kagome nodded to herself with a satisfied smile for having accomplished her goal before reaching for her phone.

_**'Sorry Koibito, not going to make it today. This is too good to pass up.'**_

Kagome gave her cell phone an understanding smile as she held it, as if he could sense her acceptance through the electronic device.

"Looks like I'm free if you wanted to grab a bite together, Sango." she told her boss and best friend as she composed her reply.

_'No worries, Love. I look forward to hearing about what was so juicy! See you tonight.'_

oooOooo

Inuyasha smiled as he read her reply, quickly typing a brief response of his own before tucking his phone back away, his ears having remained trained forward the entire time so as not to miss a single word being spoken. This was just too good, indeed. Fresh, headline worthy news. Two of Hollywood's most renown bachelors were having lunch together at a casual dining establishment, the type of place that often saw co-stars or other such business partners sharing a meal while discussing this or that, going over an upcoming script, etc. Except _this _was no casual luncheon, and the bachelors, so it would turn out, were in fact both secretly involved in a steady relationship...with each other.

Now, Inuyasha had actually already known that, but he _did _have a moral code and would never in a million years have outed the guys based on what his nose had told him. Neither did he ever use his superhuman hearing to eavesdrop outside bedroom windows, because that just wasn't right; it wouldn't be fair. But in a public place such as the casual restaurant they were currently gracing with their presence there was no longer an expectation of privacy, and everyone _knew _the 'Canine Phantom' as some celebrities still called him could be lurking in any shadow, hiding around any corner...

Or sitting in plain sight across the street at a patio table of yet another casual dining restaurant. Whatever worked.

The bottom line was they'd dropped their guard, and so now was his opportunity to pounce, fair and square. He'd been waiting for an opportunity to print this story for quite a while now and so there was no _way _he was going to miss his chance to get just the right photograph. It wasn't that he had a problem with homosexuality; quite the opposite, in fact. He actually hated the fact that the guys had felt as if they couldn't be open and honest about who they were for fear they'd lose some of their 'adoring fans' and so Inuyasha wanted to help free them from their burden of pretending to be something they weren't. From the sound of things, they were just about ready to stop living their lie, anyway, and he supposed their lunch date had to at least on some level be them hoping that somebody _would _catch them and break the story, so that the hard part could get over and done with, like ripping off a band-aid. Only problem was _nobody _suspected them...except him, of course. Which wasn't really a problem at all, then, since it made it Inuyahsa's exclusive, and the hanyou grinned like a kid in a candy store as he used his high powered zoom to snap a few good shots of the actors' hands touching in the center of the table.

"That's it, guys, just be yourselves." he murmured low with an approving nod, clicking away. "If _I _can learn to accept _myself _then your issues are nothing."

The public would still love them as the fabulous actors they were; he would make sure of it.

oooOooo

Reading her boyfriend's reply, _**'Looking forward to it.'**_, Kagome decided against texting Inuyasha back again, knowing he was concentrating on his work. Signing out of her blog account on their magazine's website, she closed her browser window and then scooted her computer chair back a few inches before turning and glancing Sango's way.

"Ready?" she asked the older woman with a smile.

"Totally." Sango replied with a nod, as she stepped back to allow Kagome room to stand, and then after the miko grabbed her purse they were off, saying a quick hi to Kikyou as they headed for the elevator.

The pair walked the few short blocks to Hungry Ninja Ramen, that having become a favorite spot among many of the employees over the last year and a half. It was close by, affordable, and best of all had relatively private tables for uninterrupted 'girl talk' over lunch.

"So how's your sketch coming along?" Sango asked the young miko after the waitress took their orders.

"Oh fine, it'll be done in a few more days." Kagome answered, in regard to the sketch she was making for that year's upcoming Secret Santa gift exchange.

The office Christmas party was still eight days away, so she had plenty of time to get the drawing finished. She'd picked the name of their in-house photographer who did the beauty shots for Ayumi's hair and makeup editorial, as well as the fashion shots for Eri's articles, the food shots for Yuka's cookbook section, and a few other various columns as well. He worked exclusively in a studio on site, as opposed to Inuyasha's field work; he was a perfectionist when it came to what he portrayed through his camera and the image that had come to mind for Kagome when she'd meditated with the guy had actually been of him painting a portrait of somebody else, the faceless woman playing his modeling subject depicted just as flawlessly on his canvas as she appeared in 'real life'. The images Kagome saw whenever she pulled her little soul-reading stunt didn't usually correlate in any way to what that person actually did for a living, but she absolutely loved it when they did. It meant that that person was actually doing what they loved most, what they felt true passion for deep inside, and it was nice to know that their resident in-studio photographer was so devoted to his craft.

"So when are you and Inuyasha going to tie the knot?" Sango asked with a teasing glint in her eyes as the waitress brought their food.

Chuckling at the sudden change in topic, knowing she shouldn't have been surprised, Kagome answered honestly with, "We haven't really had any serious discussions along those lines...yet."

The hint of hopefulness in the young miko's voice was impossible for the older woman to miss, although the flash of knowing in the older woman's eyes did go unnoticed by the young miko as Kagome took a sip of her water.

"Well, it's as plain as the ears on his head that he's absolutely head over heels in love with you." Sango declared matter-of-factly as she picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

"Yeah..." Kagome agreed with a dreamy note to her voice, the shimmer in her eyes revealing her mind was traveling elsewhere as she too began to eat.

Kagome knew that Inuyasha loved her, and she also loved him, with a passion. Deciding to try having a real relationship had been the best decision of their lives, Kagome knew both she and Inuyasha agreed; neither of them could ever imagine their life without the other person in it, now, and thankfully, their friends had been supportive of their relationship every step of the way.

Inuyasha had still been at Kagome's apartment when Sango had come home around noon on Christmas Day, and the part-time taijiya had rushed next door to gush her own happy news and show off the diamond ring on her finger only to get the shock of her life – in a _good _way – to discover that her best friend had had a 'gentleman caller', as she'd teasingly referred to the hanyou, making Inuyasha blush a deep red all the way to his ears. But he'd valiantly endured the older woman's teasing, and Sango had quickly put his growing worries to rest by assuring him that she'd known of Kagome's feelings for him for a long time by that point and that she was _thrilled _by the notion of the two of them actually getting together. Of course, he had been equally as happy for her that she and the bouzu were _finally _officially engaged, which he'd readily told her, and upon mention of her new fiancé Sango had squealed that she just _had _to share _their_ news with Miroku, and so then with a final congratulatory hug to the young miko she'd darted back next door to her own apartment to make the call.

Rolling his eyes at Sango's excitement as she spoke with Miroku over the phone, which the hanyou had been able to hear through the wall, Inuyasha had begrudgingly decided to leave the sanctuary of Kagome's apartment, then, especially since the following day was a work day and so he'd therefore have to leave anyway at _some _point. He'd figured that the miko would probably want enough time to still go visit with her family for Christmas, and also to gush the happy news about her new boyfriend to her mother, which Kagome had definitely done later that afternoon, and Mrs. Higurashi had been about as happy for her daughter as Sango had been. She too had known of the young miko's crush on the inu-hanyou, of course, and the fact that Inuyasha was in fact a hanyou while they were a shrine family of reiki using humans meant absolutely nothing to Mrs. Higurashi. All that mattered to her was if Inuyasha treated her daughter right and made her happy, which she'd quickly come to learn was the case when Kagome had brought him home for dinner the following Saturday.

Said miko chuckled a little to herself at the memory, earning a curious glance from the woman sitting across from her.

"Nothing, nothing." she waved off with her left hand, taking another bite of her ramen. "Just remembering how adorably nervous Inuyasha had been when I'd first brought him home to Mother." she explained with a giggle, which caused Sango to chuckle a little as well.

"I still wish I could've seen his face." the older woman commented with a knowing smirk.

She'd heard all about it from the young miko, of course, of how Kagome's mother had _literally _welcomed Inuyasha into their home with open arms, greeting him with an unexpected, albeit friendly hug, which had thrown the poor hanyou for a loop right then and there. Then, without any time to recover from that surprise, her overly possessive grandfather had appeared on the scene and playfully threatened the boy, holding up a stack of ofuda and exclaiming that he'd better treat Kagome right _or else_...before dissolving into a fit of laughter and joyously slapping the hanyou on the back, laughing even harder at the canine man's shell-shocked expression. The way Sango had heard it, originally, when Kagome had first started talking about her crush on Inuyasha to her family, her grandfather hadn't been especially thrilled with the idea of Kagome liking the man or them ever actually getting together, but by that point, over three years later, even he had thankfully come to accept that it was a lost cause. His granddaughter loved a hanyou, simple as that, and he wasn't about to ruin his own relationship with her by acting a fool. It _was_ the 21st century, after all. Kagome's younger brother Souta certainly hadn't objected, the teenaged priest-in-training having eyed the inu-hanyou as if sizing him up before his expression had cracked into a huge grin, and then reaching forward and shaking the hanyou's clawed hand without a speck of fear he'd then playfully welcomed Inuyasha to the family, laughing at the blush that'd stained the demonic man's cheeks at his words. It'd been all Kagome could do at the time to not laugh at him, herself, the miko having found her new boyfriend's unexpected shyness around her family just too cute for words.

Both women were pulled from their musings when the check came, and after a mild and playful argument Kagome finally relented and allowed Sango to pay for their lunch.

"Well, he's certainly not shy or nervous around my family any longer." the miko commented offhandedly, Sango nodding her agreement as the duo headed out of the noodle café and back towards their workplace.

Looking back on it, Kagome knew that Inuyasha felt perfectly at home at the Higurashi shrine those days, which she was definitely grateful for, the two of them still spending the occasional evening visiting with her family.

"He's even gone with me a few times to my monthly training sessions." the miko stated, earning surprised eyes from her taijiya companion.

"Really?" Sango asked, not having known about that little tidbit. "Your sensei doesn't mind?"

Kagome merely shrugged.

"Does it matter? Family and significant others have always been allowed to go, to offer their support. So my boyfriend happens to be half youkai, so what?"

Kagome's tone of voice indicated that it'd fortunately never actually been a problem. Perhaps her sensei didn't personally agree with the younger miko's lifestyle choice, but she also had enough decency to not actually say anything negative about it, at least to their faces. Kagome always sensed a 'no nonsense' kind of attitude from the older woman, indicating that to her, it really was all about the training and nothing else mattered. Some of the other students had felt shocked to her, the first time they'd seen her and Inuyasha together, but none of them had ever actually said anything to her about it, either, and quite frankly she didn't really care what they thought. Kagome went there to practice her spiritual powers and archery skills, to keep her mind sharp and aim true, not to get ridiculed or insulted for whom she chose to involve herself with romantically. She was still a reservist with the Spiritual Sect, after all, and as such she would still use her powers to fend off a youkai attack should such a situation ever actually arise. Not only did Inuyasha _not _disapprove of her desire to use her powers to aid mankind should the shit ever truly hit the fan, admiring her sense of honor as the miko she was, but the protective aspect of his inu-youkai nature coupled by the fact that he'd lived among humans his whole life meant that if all hell ever actually _did _break loose, he'd be fighting right along side her. It wasn't anything they'd ever discussed with her sensei down at their region's spiritualist headquarters where she trained, although it _had _been something he'd told her family during that first dinner together, a week after Christmas Eve. Her grandfather had asked him what he thought of the idea of Kagome ever having to use her powers to kill a youkai, if it ever actually came to that, and knowing the old priest had wanted to know where his loyalties lied Inuyasha had told him the truth, that his loyalty was to Kagome, and that any attacking youkai would have to go through _him_, first, because he would protect Kagome with his life. It was a bold declaration for a man who'd only been with his girlfriend for a week at that point, but considering what everyone in Kagome's family knew of the nature of inu-youkai, they had known his words were true. Kagome had become an important person to him, somebody his canine side had deemed _his, _his to protect, and as such, even if their romantic relationship had hypothetically not worked out, she would still have remained an important person to him, still somebody he would protect, still his best friend as far as his human half was concerned, forever.

Of course, even back then, there had been little doubt in Kagome's mind after spending a full week with the guy that their romance would work out. Looking back on it, Kagome remembered that evening fondly, how warmly her family had taken to Inuyasha, and how in awe of her family's acceptance of him Inuyasha had truly been. She remembered how his lingering worries had just seemed to melt away right before her very eyes, since he'd no longer had to fret over what her family thought of the two of them being together. That he had already been so protective of her after only being together for a week, that had really touched her heart. She'd known from that moment onward that the feelings he was developing for her were the real thing; her feelings for him had multiplied in intensity in that moment.

"Hey girlies." Kikyou greeted with a wave before taking another bite of her sub sandwich, as Kagome and Sango stepped off the elevator onto the tenth floor.

"How do you stay so thin eating so much bread all the time?" Sango asked the receptionist with amusement in her voice.

Kikyou's eyes sparkled as she swallowed and then replied with, "I burn it off running 'round and around in your thoughts all night."

Laughing, Sango playfully responded with, "Damn...busted." which earned a muffled laugh from Kikyou as she giggled around the new bite of sandwich in her mouth, while Kagome shook her head in her own amusement, playfully rolling her eyes.

She absolutely loved working for Shikon Weekly.

Thinking fondly about everyone she worked with, she remembered that first Monday morning at work, the day after Christmas, five days _before_ she'd brought Inuyasha home for that introductory dinner with her family. Their relationship had been _brand _new when they'd faced the music, and their coworkers.

_Boy, __that__ had been an experience and a half_... the miko thought with a mental chuckle, as she made her way back to her desk and got back to work, Sango heading back to her own office.

It hadn't taken long at all for the news of their newfound relationship to spread like wildfire over their entire floor, Kagome had been quick to discover that first Monday morning. She hadn't really expected it to be a secret, of course, especially after her brazen public gift giving at the party two nights prior, not to mention the fact that she'd known more than one person had most likely overheard her and Inuyasha's conversation afterwards, and their agreement to go out to dinner the following evening, on Christmas Eve, but still, she hadn't really expected _everyone _to know about it. But legitimately just about the entire floor had already known about her date with Inuyasha, the miko had learned the very moment she'd arrived. Kikyou had been the dead giveaway, the former miko absolutely ecstatic when she'd looked up at the elevator's ding to see Kagome coming in, asking her right away how her 'romantic dinner' with Inuyasha had gone. The general rule of thumb at Shikon Weekly was that if Kikyou knew, then _everybody _knew. Right on cue, Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had all accosted her not five minutes after she'd sat at her desk asking pretty much the same thing, and while the miko had been in the middle of giving them the same answer she'd given Kikyou – that dinner had gone _very _well and that she and Inuyasha were now officially together – she'd actually overheard Sango talking about them with Rin, as well, the senior editor merrily sprinkling in mention of what she'd discovered regarding the hanyou and miko pair upon coming home that Christmas Day as part of her story telling to her teenaged assistant about how her own night with Miroku had gone.

Of course, Kagome hadn't gotten upset at Sango for telling Rin – who'd then told Kikyou, who'd then told everyone else – about how Inuyasha had actually _stayed the night_ at her apartment. Theirs was a gossip rag of truth, after all, and so since it was _true _she didn't really have much right to privacy, she'd supposed. That would be rather hypocritical of her, after all. Honestly, Kagome had known going in that she couldn't rightfully expect such a juicy little tidbit like them sharing the night together to be kept a secret for very long, if at all, and she hadn't been about to deny it, either. She _had_ told those who'd asked her that her night with the hanyou had gone _very _well, after all, deliberately accenting the word 'very' complete with a suggestive wink. Let them think what they wanted from that. Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had all been happy for her, much to the miko's relief, the trio having only ever told Kagome to give up on Inuyasha from their previous belief that he was a jerk and that he'd never come around. So learning that he actually _had_ and that he and Kagome were actually together, the trio had told Kagome that she had their blessing, the girls actually all glad that they had been wrong about him. They'd been a little shocked to realize that she and Inuyasha had actually _gone all the way _on their first date, once that little detail had become public knowledge, having thought at first that Kagome's own suggestive hinting had maybe just meant a heavy make-out session or something, but what the hell, this wasn't high school; they were adults and could therefore make _adult _decisions when it came to matters of the bedroom. Having known it was only a matter of time before everyone found out what'd transpired between them, anyway, if not from Sango and Miroku then probably from herself and Inuyasha, Kagome had decided on her way in to work that morning that the best way to go about it would be to act as proud as she'd honestly felt, not ashamed or embarrassed in any way, shape or form, no matter _what _her coworkers thought.

So okay, it had been a _little _embarrassing to have her sex life be the talk of the town that Monday morning, but there was nothing for it. Inuyasha had taken it amazingly well, all things considered, and for that she'd definitely been grateful. Sango's engagement to Miroku had also been gossip worthy news at the same time, too, which had thankfully also helped to direct at least _some _of the attention away from themselves, the monk in question having certainly done his part to keep whatever conversations he could influence circling about himself and their 'lovely' senior editor instead, and for that the hanyou and miko had both _definitely_ been grateful. Fortunately, the newness regarding their change in relationship status had faded quickly enough, as far as their coworkers were concerned, and nowadays everyone simply accepted their relationship as fact. It was pretty much common knowledge by that point that they were still going strong and steady, and not anything really worth whispering about any longer. The only curiosity that some people still displayed at that point was now regarding whether or not they were ever going to get married, a curiosity that had actually started fairly early on, right after Sango and Miroku's own wedding.

Just like Sango had pointed out to the young miko during lunch, the fact that Inuyasha was in love with her was definitely obvious to anyone with a working set of eyes, and in fact it _had _been that obvious for months now. The whispers had started back at the monk and slayer's wedding, and were still going strong to that day. Kagome didn't mind it, though, since they were, for the most part, _good _whispers.

Everyone was right, of course, when it came to how much he loved her. Kagome knew it was true, because of her ability to read souls and feel the emotions behind his demonic aura. She had only been confused about his feelings back in the beginning because he had felt wary of her, and she hadn't been able to tell _why_.She couldn't read _minds _and so she'd had no real way of knowing if he'd been standoffish because the feel of her miko aura rubbed him the wrong way, or if he'd found her attraction to him disturbing because he didn't see her that way, or what. Now that he felt _love _for her, there was much, _much _less to be confused about, as far as what was fueling that feeling deep down inside. It didn't even really matter 'why' he loved her; all that mattered to her was that he did. It hadn't taken the hanyou that long to admit it, either. Perhaps it had been the atmosphere, but during the reception party after Sango and Miroku's wedding, which again had been on Valentine's Day, he'd decided to muscle up the courage and actually say the 'L' word out loud to her, pulling her aside and murmuring softly in her ear just how deeply he knew he truly did love her. Maybe the way she'd thrown herself into his arms in pure elation at his words was partly to blame for the marriage related whispering they'd endured ever since. Still, though, they had made the wise decision to pace themselves, valiantly ignoring their coworkers' playful teasing about when it would be their turn to walk down the aisle.

Even so, Kagome hadn't hesitated when Inuyasha had asked her to move in with him three months into their relationship, the girl easily walking away from the apartment that'd truly had nothing keeping her there any longer, Sango and Miroku obviously having gotten a new place of their own by that point. The girls still saw each other everyday at work, so Kagome hadn't really been sad to see Sango go, when she'd first moved out. Not when it had been because she had moved into a new place with the love of her life, her husband. Kagome had been happy for Sango, and she had been happy for herself, too, when Inuyasha had surprised and delighted her with the request. Deciding that looking for a new, larger place for the two of them could still wait a while longer, wanting to take baby steps even with living together, Kagome had just moved into Inuyasha's apartment, which was just a one bedroom one bath, as her own place had been, but yet, it somehow seemed to fit them just right.

Thinking about the apartment she shared with her hanyou boyfriend, the apartment she now called home, Kagome's eyes drifted back down to the clock on the bottom right hand corner of her computer screen. She still had a few more hours of work ahead of her before she could call it a night. Better get back to it, then.

Sighing with a whimsical smile, Kagome shook her head to free it of encroaching daydreams, the miko truly looking forward to tonight. They had plans to enjoy this evening all by themselves, she and Inuyasha, and nothing was going to disrupt that. Nothing. They'd found out not too long ago that there was going to be some big to-do happening at one of the local night clubs that night, some celebrity or another having a birthday party or something, but Inuyasha wasn't going. He'd flat out told Miroku he wasn't going, too. Sometimes, it seemed like his work was always pulling him away from her, not that she could really blame him for his dedication since she worked for, and was just as dedicated to, the same magazine. Actually, she loved his love for his job, and didn't even begrudge him bringing his camera along whenever he was supposedly off, during their personal outings together like going to the store or out to dinner or what have you. You never knew when some celebrity might just happen to be somewhere doing something camera worthy, after all. But most of the time, Inuyasha was more of a daytime stalker kind of paparazzi, when Kagome was at work anyway and so then it didn't matter. He didn't usually go to the late night organized events like what was happening that night, even before they'd gotten together, which he'd revealed to her in confidence was actually because all of the noises and clustered smells were sometimes a bit too much for his hanyou senses, although he tried to play it off publicly as just part of his 'Canine Phantom' persona, that he saw all without being seen, himself.

Sure, sometimes he did hang out at a club for a little while, if there was nothing special going on and he could act more like a wallflower, just hoping to catch something good without anybody noticing him, especially if one of his tipsters had called him with the heads up that somebody famous was there and he knew it'd be worth it, but tonight they had their special plans to stay indoors, just the two of them, and nothing was going to change that, plain and simple. If Miroku deemed that Shikon Weekly needed a presence at tonight's event then he'd just go cover it himself; it wouldn't be the first time the houshi had filled in for Inuyasha behind the camera. The 'Canine Phantom' might have made the occasional odd appearance over the years, at a select few red carpet events and other things equally important, not to mention that stunt he'd pulled on the news the summer before last to clear Ms. Watanabe's reputation, so it wasn't like he was really trying to _hide _and everyone definitely knew what he looked like, but even so, Inuyasha would really rather not be in the public eye, one of the herd grappling for attention, begging celebrities to look his way while elbowing his way through a cluster of other paparazzi all after the same thing. The general public knew that wasn't his style, they just didn't know it was because his canine senses could actually become overwhelmed in such settings. Maybe some people correctly assumed it was related to his hanyou status, but if so they probably just thought he was a private person, feeling self-conscious about being one of the very few hanyou living in such a large city. Most hanyou actually did tend to stick to themselves; being half-youkai in a world full of humans would do that to anybody, right? It was actually quite amusing that somebody so private made his living exposing everyone else's secrets.

Inuyasha was not without his own secrets, of course. Secrets he did not want to become public knowledge. But thanks to the reputation he had built for himself over the years nobody would think it odd when he failed to show up at tonight's event, and actually, chances were that Miroku had already been planning on going, anyway, so he'd just have to bring a camera along was all. Not that big of a deal. He probably wasn't the only one going, either. Kagome was sure he'd bring Sango along, but besides that, she knew that Yuka, Eri and Ayumi were all going, as well as a few other people. It was really supposed to be one hell of a party, and something that the whole office had been looking forward to for the last week or so. Everyone except her. Oh, she was looking forward to tonight, but for an entirely different reason.

Thinking about all of the naughty things she had planned, Kagome grinned evilly; she was _really _looking forward to tonight.

_Stupid five o'clock, hurry up already! _she teasingly scolded the clock as she logged back into her online column on the company website and got back to answering questions.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Quietly approaching Inuyasha's table, Sato held up the water pitcher in a silent gesture he saw the hanyou notice from the corner of his eye, asking the canine man with his body language if he'd like any more water. Just as wordlessly, Inuyasha shook his head in the negative, his hands never releasing the device they held as he typed away on his cell phone's keyboard while the twin satellite dishes on his head remained tuned into the conversation still taking place across the street. The two 'bachelors' were having a late lunch, and so was he. He wasn't texting anybody, but rather, his phone was currently running a note pad app, and he was getting some _great _quotes. His camera was sitting right beside his empty water glass on the table, and with his reflexes he knew he wouldn't miss a great shot should something even more fabulous happen, like the two men kissing. So far they hadn't done anything quite so obvious, of course, and from what he could tell, nobody dining around them in that restaurant had any idea what was going on, either, even despite the two men not really keeping their voices that low. Perhaps the people who could hear them thought they were rehearsing movie lines? Whatever the case, Inuyasha knew better. This was gold, pure and simple. He was having such a wonderful afternoon! Even that bitchy waitress Tamiko wasn't dampening his mood.

"How long is..._he _going to just sit there?" he heard her whisper to somebody behind him, imagining she'd probably thrown out some sort of gesture in his direction. She obviously didn't realize he could hear her, which was probably because he was keeping both of his ears forward. At least she was keeping her voice low enough that he could still hear the guys across the street.

"What's the matter with you?" he heard Sato, his waiter, whisper back in a hiss. "Don't you know who that is?"

"Somebody's stray?" Tamiko quipped back sarcastically.

Inuyasha could _feel _poor Sato's panic, and chuckling to himself, he mentally rolled his eyes. It wasn't like he was really all that famous, after all, but Sato was a fan of Shikon Weekly. He'd said so the moment Inuyasha had first taken a seat at their outside table, the boy truly amazed to see him and almost instantly realizing it was because the 'Phantom' was on the prowl. Nodding and grinning, he'd told the boy he was correct, gesturing to the men just barely taking a seat at the window table within the restaurant across the street, and he'd told him, politely, to not disturb him because he was working. It hadn't been until after he'd realized the pair's lunch across the way was going to run long and he'd texed Kagome to let her know he couldn't make it today that he'd actually ordered himself anything to eat, quickly flagging Sato down and telling him to bring him whatever was on special. The boy had almost tripped over his own feet to comply.

Inuyasha thought it was cute.

But he was also glad that he wasn't a _real _celebrity, because while he could handle the occasional fan, he would _not _want to have to deal with people like _himself _on a daily basis.

That thought had him grinning evilly to himself. His prey was on the move.

With the men across the way finally paying their check and preparing to leave, Inuyasha knew that that was his cue to grab his belongings and leave as well. With his own check already paid, he stood up, dropped his phone back into his cargo jeans' pocket and zipped it shut, threw his camera around his neck, swung his backpack over one shoulder, scooted in his chair and made for the exit. He passed Tamiko on his way through the restaurant and offered her a smile he knew looked more predatory than genuine, showcasing his pearly fangs. She glared, but he didn't miss the flash of nervousness in her scent.

_Good, stupid bitch_...

Finding Sato, the hanyou walked up to the boy and held out his hand to shake, the young waiter numbly shaking his hand with wide eyes that bespoke of his awe.

"You ever see anybody or anything you think Shikon Weekly should see, you give me a call. I'll make it worth your while." Inuyasha told him with a much more genuine smile. He had to suppress his desire to laugh outright when he heard Tamiko's quiet mutter of "What the hell?" in the background.

"A-absolutely, Mr. Takahashi. Absolutely. It would be my _pleasure, _sir."

Nodding, Inuyasha released the boy's hand and headed out. Sato glanced down at his hand in even more awe, not because Inuyasha had touched it, but because of the twenty dollar bill he now held, along with Inuyasha's business card.

Exiting the restaurant, Inuyasha took a deep breath, and immediately caught his prey's scent. Ducking around the corner, he slipped off his sandals and put them in his backpack. Making sure his camera was secure, he let his nose tell him when their car pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main street, waiting until after they were a couple of blocks down the road before leaping up onto the roof of the restaurant he'd eaten at and giving chase from the rooftops. He followed the pair for a little over twenty minutes, his ears drooping in disappointment when the car pulled into the garage of one of their houses, the garage door closing before either of them exited the vehicle. He couldn't even get a shot of the one guy entering the other guy's house.

_Oh well, it was a good run while it lasted_... he thought then, shrugging it off before turning around and heading back into the heart of the city. He drew the line at being a peeping tom; he still had _plenty _of 'evidence' for his editorial.

With a few hours to kill yet before it was time to call it quits for the day, Inuyasha touched down in the back alley behind a strip mall. He heard a few surprised voices murmur questions to each other regarding what they'd just seen in the air, a streak of a person flying by for a moment, but he wasn't the _only _hanyou in the city, and he certainly wasn't the only one who traveled by rooftop. Such sights were rare but not completely unheard of, and more importantly, not illegal. The human authorities did look down on 'inhuman displays' that showcased a hanyou's youkai side, but he figured the reason they hadn't actually banned something like leaping from building to building as a 'distraction' was because, in reality, getting the hanyou off the sidewalk benefited everybody. It would be a much bigger 'distraction' to force them to walk among the humans down below, and so for that reason the cops looked the other way. Every rooftop of every building had multiple security cameras, so it wasn't like a hanyou could actually sneak _into _a place sight unseen that way.

Waiting for the lingering murmurs to die down, Inuyasha swung his backpack off his shoulders and dug out his hoodie, leaving his camera hanging around his neck. Zipping up while tucking his snowy white hair, and more importantly his ears, out of sight, he remained barefoot as he trotted out of the alleyway and onto the main sidewalk, taking a few discreet sniffs in the hope of catching a familiar scent. One of the reasons why he'd actually attended a few red carpet events here and there; he now had most of the more famous celebrities' scents memorized, and that made tracking one of them down in the middle of a normal day _much _easier. He'd lost count of the number of times he'd followed somebody's scent to the grocery store or dry cleaners, not that there was always something tabloid worthy happening at those times, of course. More often than not there wasn't anything exciting happening at all, actually, but you'd never know unless you investigated, right?

Catching somebody's scent after a moment, he decided to do just that, following the invisible trail until he found himself standing outside a bakery. A daytime television actress was picking up some fresh baked bread. Bor-_ring_. Heading off in a random direction, then, Inuyasha let his feet guide him, glancing skyward periodically to keep an eye on the sun's position. It was still early, but he definitely didn't want to lose track of time. He _definitely _wanted to get home before Kagome did, so that he could get himself 'ready' for her. Thinking of the woman with whom he now shared his apartment, his body, and in fact his very life, he couldn't help the lopsided grin that crept up the side of his mouth. He was absolutely head over heels in love with that miko, and he knew everybody knew it, too. Some people, most of them with the last name _Kazaana_, still pestered him to that day about when he was actually going to propose to the girl.

"Feh...nosy bastards."

His remaining smile betrayed how he truly felt about his friends'..._opinions_...when it came to he and Kagome.

Despite himself he'd actually been embarrassed as hell when Sango had first come home that Christmas Day and pretty much busted them. In a weird sort of way it'd almost felt like getting caught by his girlfriend's mother or something, at first, until the potential gravity of the situation had suddenly dawned on him and he'd immediately found himself starting to panick, unexpectedly fearing the part-time taijiya's reaction. She _was _Kagome's best friend, after all, not to mention their _boss_. Fortunately, though, Sango had been quick to put his growing worries to rest, her lighthearted teasing immediately letting him know that she wasn't disgusted with the notion of them being together. Quite the contrary, in fact. Sango had quickly let him know that she was _thrilled _to learn that he and Kagome were finally, actually together, and the miko's _real _mother, when he'd met her the following weekend, had also just as quickly nipped whatever worries he'd had in the bud with the way she too had made it immediately known just how welcome he truly was.

That woman was absolutely amazing. Her son and father-in-law weren't bad, either. Actually, Inuyasha _adored _Kagome's family, and was looking forward to the day they truly became his family, as well.

Oh yes, he had plans, but all in due time, and the lingering naysayers – they were few and far between but _did _exist – could frankly all go fuck themselves as far as he was concerned. It wasn't as if he'd ever been all that close to those idiots to begin with. In fact, for the longest time, he hadn't been all that close to _anyone _at the office. He only actually came in twice a week, after all, and when he was there he just kept to himself, did his job and left. He'd never spoken more than a small handful of words to anyone other than Miroku until the day Kagome'd started, and against his will she'd slowly but surely started pulling him into the occasional conversation, even when the words leaving his lips at that time were in an attempt to get her to leave him alone. Looking back on it, he'd never actually told her to _leave him alone_...maybe subconsciously, he hadn't wanted her to.

It was really only in the last year, thanks to Kagome teaching him how to open up and gain friends, that he'd actually started socializing with any of their other coworkers. What a shock it'd been for everyone, when he'd started waving and saying hello as he passed, or striking up the occasional conversation in the break room. It had been a pleasant surprise for most of them, and Inuyasha, too. Most of the employees at Shikon Weekly, it'd turned out, had never really had much of a problem with him to begin with, and had only ever given him his space because he'd been projecting with his body language that he _wanted _to be left alone. Now that that'd changed, they were grateful for it, and grateful to Kagome, too, knowing that she was the cause of his personality makeover. _Most _of the people at Shikon Weekly were happy for the happy couple, and gossiped about them in a _good _way, if at all. The few people who had been so against the idea of youkai and humans interacting that they couldn't stomach the notion of working with a hanyou had quit years ago, and so he didn't really have any enemies on the job, which now translated into their relationship not really having any enemies, either. There were some people he had gotten closer to than others, of course, and some people who, perhaps, didn't necessarily like him, but they would never wish to see any harm befall him or, as far as he knew, personally think that all hanyou pregnancies should be aborted, as he knew the hardcore purists believed. Even now, the only whispers and murmurs he ever heard in the negative regarding his relationship with Kagome were from people who felt sorry for _her_, not necessarily because they were disgusted by the notion of a human and hanyou together, or even a _miko _and hanyou, but more because they just felt that being with him would make her life unnecessarily difficult, from a social standpoint. _They _weren't racist, or so they told themselves, but rather, they were merely 'concerned' for Kagome, and how the 'actual' racist people of the world were going to react to seeing the two of them together. People would _stare _at them wherever they went, whispering even more hurtful things, or sometimes saying those hurtful things right to their faces. It was so sad, they would murmur amongst themselves, what that 'poor sweetheart' Kagome was going to have to face in life, being with him.

Inuyasha never confronted those whispering coworkers because, in a way, he knew they were right. In the last year they _had _encountered the occasional racist who'd publicly scoffed at their 'indecent' union. It was something he would admit to thinking about from time to time.

That, and the fact that he couldn't give her children.

His ears lowered a bit at the thought.

He'd love to raise a family with Kagome someday, although if they ever decided to, they would have to go the adoption route. He could never father a child of his own, and that thought did pain him mildly, but certainly not from the standpoint of Kagome ever one day realizing that fact and deciding that their relationship couldn't work out because of it. She knew _all _about hanyou physiology, what with having grown up on a shrine and all, and so she'd known from day one what she was getting herself into in that regard. _She _was the one who'd been crushing on _him _from the beginning, not the other way around, so let those few people who didn't realize he could hear their whispering talk amongst themselves about how he was 'ruining her chances at a normal life'. She seemed pretty happy to him, and besides, 'normal' was overrated. She'd had a whole year to experience what walking down the sidewalk beside him in public was like, or eating with him in a restaurant, or sitting beside him at the movies with his arm wrapped around her shoulders, and if the infrequent but occasional jeers hadn't bothered her already then he didn't honestly think they ever would. He'd smelled her emotional reactions at those times, when she'd realized people were glaring. She'd never _once _felt ashamed or embarrassed. In fact, more often than not he'd get a spike of anger from her, and when she knew some people gaping at them were _really _disgusted by the thought of them being together it wasn't unheard of for Kagome to yank him down into an impromptu kiss by his forelocks, her anger morphing into pride and satisfaction at the sound of the onlookers' gasps.

Kami, he loved her.

So let those few people they were less close to at Shikon Weekly think he was selfishly ruining her life and that if he really loved her he'd let her go. He wasn't the boss of her. If she ever decided she was unhappy in their relationship, he knew she knew where the door was, so he wasn't going to let the whisperers manipulate him into thinking they knew his girlfriend's heart better than he did. Kagome's life was her own to 'ruin' if she wanted to; it was her decision, and she'd chosen him. That was all he needed to know, all that mattered to him.

And as far as Inuyasha was concerned, she'd made her position on the matter known from day one. He still remembered strolling into work that Monday morning, trying to act calm yet freaking out on the inside, having had _no _idea what he'd face when those elevator doors opened. Kagome had gotten to work only about twenty minutes before him, but that had been plenty of time for word to spread. He'd never felt so embarrassed and proud at the same time, to learn almost right away that nearly the entire floor not only knew they'd gone out on a date Saturday night, but that he'd _stayed _the night at Kagome's apartment afterwards, christening the start of their official relationship. The lack of shame in her scent, coupled by the almost overwhelming acceptance he'd received in the form of laughing men knudging him with elbows or other equally friendly gestures, had caused him to relax and take the teasing in stride almost right away. Miroku had been the worst, of course, coming up behind him and saying something to the effect of "You _dog _you..." but laughing off the canine pun, Inuyasha had merely congratulated the houshi in turn on his own engagement, and thankfully, the holy man and CEO had spent most of the rest of the day trying to get people to gossip about himself and Sango, instead.

Coming upon an intersection he knew quite well, Inuyasha glanced up at the sun one more time, double-checking with the clock on his cellphone afterwards. As suspected, the official end of the work day was still a couple of hours away, and he didn't want to waste that time reminiscing over the last year of his life. It wasn't as if thinking about how fabulous his life had become since gaining his girlfriend was a bad thing, but he _did _have a job to do, after all. Officially changing lanes in his mind away from _memory _lane, then, the hanyou got his thoughts back on track, his mind back in the here and now as he took a deep breath through his nose, filtering through all the hodgepodge smells of the city in the hopes of plucking out somebody else he recognized. Coming up empty-handed, he released a sigh and swung his bag off his shoulders, reaching for his sandals. Slipping his footwear back on, he decided to head into the establishment on the corner.

The bartender looked up with a smile as he saw the hooded figure enter his bar. He'd recognize those yellow eyes anywhere.

"Hey man, staying for happy hour?" he greeted and teased at the same time, knowing the answer was no.

"Feh." Inuyasha replied, approaching the bar and setting down his backpack. "You couldn't afford me." he teased back.

The bartender only laughed, knowing the hanyou was probably right. At his happy hour prices, somebody with a youkai's tolerance could probably go through his entire stock.

"Nobody's come in today." he told Inuyasha then, knowing the real reason why the canine paparazzi was there. He was one of the hanyou's tipsters, if somebody famous ever entered his bar. The demonic man tipped big for his tips, and the bartender was all about big tips. It was only business.

"Yeah, I know..." Inuyasha replied, tapping his nose discreetly. He wasn't the only patron at the bar at the moment, and he wanted to keep both who and what he was under wraps if at all possible. Fortunately, the other bargoers weren't paying the two all that much attention, too into what was on TV to care much about anything else. "Thought I'd stake out the place for an hour or so before calling it a day."

The bartender nodded his understanding and poured Inuyasha a Coke.

All was quiet and peaceful as the hanyou diligently watched the people walking outside past the windows, while the other few guys at the bar remained fixated on the television. A couple of people came in for a drink or two and then left, but nobody famous. That bar was a semi-regular stop for a handful of celebrities, Inuyasha knew, so it worked well as a place to hang out if he didn't have any other leads, but in a way it was kind of like fishing. He might get a bite, or he might not. As time ticked by, nobody camera worthy came in, but that was all right with the hanyou. Truthfully, after the story he'd already nabbed at lunchtime he could've just called it a day right then and there, but he had higher work ethics than that. Just because he wasn't in the office didn't mean he wasn't getting paid, and so he got salary, so what? So he was actually on payroll instead of a freelancer who only got paid per story. Miroku was his friend as well as his boss – he'd certainly been the closest thing he'd had to a friend until Kagome had wiggled her way into his life – and so Inuyasha would never deliberately screw the holy man over by not actually doing his best to find as many stories as possible. If he hadn't captured such a fabulous headline-to-be at lunch he would still be pounding the pavement, going from celebrity's house to celebrity's house in the hopes of finding somebody about to head out whom he could then follow in the hopes of them doing something news worthy, but because he _had _already gotten his day's worth he'd decided that taking it easy for the last hour or so wouldn't hurt anything. Plus it was always good to pop in on his various leads from time to time, to make sure they knew he was serious and to make sure their loyalties still lied with him. If some other paparazzi was stepping on his toes he wanted to know about it. So far, the corner sports bar still seemed to be his little secret. He knew the scent of most of his competition and there was no trace of anybody he knew having been there for at least two weeks; after that scent trails got a little hard to distinguish, unless he got down on all fours and sniffed the ground like a dog, but he didn't want to draw that kind of attention to himself and only did it when he knew nobody was looking.

Gulping down the last of his fifth Coke, grateful for his youkai resilience that prevented the stuff from rotting his teeth or making him fat, Inuyasha peaked at his phone again and decided it was close enough to quitting time to head home. He couldn't stay out all night, after all. Unlike some guys he _was _on salary, and so he truthfully wasn't as desperate to snap as many photos as possible because he wasn't paid per photo. Besides, he wasn't a bachelor anymore. Why stay out when there was a lovely lady who would be sitting home all alone waiting for him?

"Well, I'm out." he announced then, as he slid a twenty dollar bill towards the bartender, even though he knew his Cokes were on the house.

"Pleasure doing business with you." the bartender stated with a nod, dropping the bill in the tip jar after tapping it on the bar top a couple of times in a show of thanks. He would definitely shoot the hanyou a text the instant the next celebrity walked through his door.

"You goin' to that party tonight down at the club?" he asked conversationally as Inuyasha was slipping on his backpack. Such a question wasn't suspicious, should the few guys in there watching 'the game' have been paying any attention, since it wasn't an exclusive event for VIPs only. The cover charge was actually reasonable and just about every young person in the city was probably going. It would be a mad house.

Mentally shuddering at the very thought, Inuyasha knew that even if he could go, he wouldn't have wanted to, and so he was definitely grateful for the added excuse of why he legitimately couldn't go when he'd reminded Miroku that he wouldn't be doing it.

"Nope." he answered the bartender then, shrugging it off as if missing such a huge event wasn't detrimental to his career, which it really wasn't. "Got special plans with the lady tonight, and she'd neuter me if I canceled."

The bartender chuckled at the hanyou's inside joke, appreciating the demonic man for being able to poke fun at his own canine nature. If you couldn't laugh at yourself then you were too damn uptight, in his opinion.

"Wouldn't want that." he agreed, adding, "Have fun." with a suggestive wink that had Inuyasha chuckling in turn.

With a final nod and wave, the hanyou exited the bar, and then gauging the sinking position of the sun one last time, he put his sandals back in his backpack and then leapt up onto the roof of the bar, racing for home.

oooOoooOoooOooo

"Annnndddd...done." Kagome stated aloud to nobody, nodding to herself in satisfaction as her final post for the day went through, appearing on their website. Logging out of her account, then, she shut her computer down and scooted her chair back a couple of feet, stretching out her limbs.

She sighed in satisfaction as a few things popped, and then standing up, she reached for her purse, slinging it over her shoulder before heading away from her desk.

"Night, guys..." she greeted as she poked her head inside Miroku's office, Miroku and Sango both inside and going over a few things business related.

"You're going to miss one hell of a party tonight." Sango stated more conversationally than actually sympathetic or disappointed, knowing why she and Inuyasha weren't going.

"We'll make our own party to make up for it." Kagome joked with a wink that had Miroku chuckling before he turned and gave his wife a suggestive look of his own, which caused Sango to blush lightly and playfully punch his shoulder, which made Kagome laugh even harder.

"See ya!" the miko stated with a final wave, quickly ducking back out of the office before Miroku could make any lewd comments at her own expense.

After saying another quick goodnight to Kikyou, who expressed her own disappointment to learn that she and Inuyasha wouldn't be attending the celebrity shindig, Kagome got in the elevator and took it down to their building's underground parking garage.

_Brrr_... she thought as the doors opened and she stepped out into the cold and artificially lit structure, hugging her coat a little tighter to herself. Making her way to her car, she got in and immediately turned it on, waiting a couple of minutes with the engine running for the heater to make a difference in the internal temperature of the vehicle before pulling out of the garage and into the dwindling twilight.

_Only five and it's already getting dark_..._stupid time change_... she grumbled to herself good-naturedly as she turned on the radio, thoughts of the man she knew was waiting for her at home bringing a warmth to her blood that had nothing to do with the car's heater.

"Ready or not, here I come..." she said with a chuckle, before singing along with the song that started playing.

The drive didn't take her any longer than usual, although it felt like it for some reason, but finally the miko arrived at her destination, as she pulled into the parking garage and parked her car beside Inuyasha's own seldom used vehicle. Making her way inside the apartment building, she did her best to tamp down the giddy butterflies that had started hatching in her stomach. She was being silly. This wasn't prom night, after all. She was a _woman_, a woman who had a _man _waiting for her in her apartment. Still, she couldn't help being excited. This was a game they only got to play once a month, after all.

Reaching the door to her and Inuyasha's apartment, Kagome closed her eyes and concentrated, finding not a single trace of his demonic aura, but she wasn't worried. She knew he was home. Did I mention it was the new moon? They hadn't been lying, though, telling everyone they weren't going to that party because they had plans; they'd most certainly had this evening planned for quite some time. Since the last new moon, to be exact.

Retrieving her key, she unlocked the door.

Darkness and silence greeted her. She didn't call out, merely closing and locking the door behind her as she entered and quietly slipped off her shoes, sitting her purse down on the entryway table before shrugging out of her coat. It might've been dark in the apartment but it wasn't cold, the heater running nice and high, and for that she was grateful. She hated being cold.

Making her way down the unlit hallway clad in blouse, slacks and nylons, her familiarity with the apartment by that point guiding her feet with confidence, Kagome reached the door on the right and opened it without hesitation, flicking on the bathroom light. Blinking a few times to adjust her eyes, she entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind herself, and got to work. Twenty minutes later she was freshly showered, dressed only in a thin cotton robe, and after giving herself one last once over in the mirror she nodded in satisfaction and exited the bathroom, turning off the light as she went. She'd collect her dirty clothes later.

Facing the door on the opposite side of the hall, she exhaled once and then reached for the knob, slowly opening the door. A dimly lit room greeted her, flickering candles adorning the dressers opposite the bed. Oh, the bed.

Stripped of all but the bottom, fitted sheet, it wasn't the lack of pillows and blankets that caught her attention but the person that made up for the lack of said bedding, who was stripped of _everything_, not even a sheet covering what was bare to her greedy eyes.

_Merry Christmas to me_... Kagome thought with a naughty lick of her lips, her eyes traveling up and down the naked perfection that was spread out before her like a holiday feast, the raven-haired human male that was her boyfriend for this night already aroused and gazing her way expectantly, the look in his coffee orbs heated.

Kagome still remembered when Inuyasha had first confided in her this, his most guarded secret. Of course, everyone knew a hanyou had such a time, it was _when _they turned human that no hanyou ever wanted to share. They had even discussed it once, about two months in on their relationship; out of the blue one day Inuyasha had thanked her for not bringing it up, knowing she must have been curious but appreciating that she had respected his privacy. She had told him in turn that she'd figured he would share that part of his life with her when he was ready and that she hadn't wanted to push him. He'd told her then, when it was, although she hadn't yet been privy to actually see his transformation. It would be hard for him, he'd told her, since nobody had ever seen him that way except for his late mother. Not even his aunt. _Especially _not his aunt. He'd kept that time of the month a secret from her more than anyone else. So when he had invited her to live with him the following month, Kagome had known just what a tremendous gesture on his part such a request really was, and that had only added to the reasons why she'd so readily accepted.

They hadn't 'done' anything on that first new moon night, of course. It had been a very awkward evening for the both of them. Inuyasha had actually wanted to, his human emotions running away with him; he'd wanted to shower Kagome with the love he felt for her but had been paranoid of not meeting her expectations, since of course, he wouldn't have his youkai stamina on his human night. Kagome, on the other hand, had found herself immediately attracted to his more tender human self, but had been terrified of inadvertently causing him to believe she preferred that version of himself over his normal, hanyou appearance. If she had to choose, she'd choose his hanyou self in a heartbeat. _Less _than a heartbeat. But regardless, there was still something exotic, and almost naughty about his human side. It wasn't really like fantasizing that she was cheating on her boyfriend, 'cause she didn't get off on such twisted, disloyal fantasies, but Inuyasha was very...dominant...being half inu-youkai. No matter how gently he tried to act and how obediently he submitted to her in the beginning, their romps almost always ended up ending the same way, with him towering over her, slamming his hips like a jackhammer.

Not that that was a bad thing.

But unless she used her miko powers against him, which she would _never _do, she knew that really, truthfully, even if Inuyasha submitted to her it was only because he had _chosen _to. She couldn't actually, _really _have him at her mercy, begging, desperate, unable to turn the tables and relying solely on _her _for his pleasure. The reality of the matter was that his hanyou strength guaranteed his dominance, and while he might 'let her have her fun' for the first few minutes it was really only a matter of time before he'd have his fill of being patient and flip their roles, by literally flipping her onto her back and taking his turn at being the one in control.

Not this time.

And not for the last half dozen new moons, either. Kagome couldn't even really say where such a wicked, dominating side of herself had come from, but she supposed it was because he normally _couldn't _be dominated that made her want to do it so badly. It was like a forbidden fruit, in a way, having her strong, powerful Inuyasha bound and helpless. Having known, especially from her line of work, that the number one relationship killer was a lack of communication, it had been on their second new moon together that Kagome had muscled up the courage to tell Inuyasha how she felt, and she had been both surprised and delighted by his surprise and delight; they'd had their special monthly game every since.

Approaching where Inuyasha lied motionless spread out on the bed before her, his feet and left hand already bound, Kagome smirked at his own knowing smirk, as she stood on his right side looking down at him. The hanyou-turned-human was amused by his 'innocent' girlfriend's secret wickedness. Nevertheless, he was her obedient sex object on this night, and he had to admit, thanks to the lack of youkai blood running through his veins, he was looking forward to it. There was no denying that it excited him; a certain part of his body was making his eagerness blatantly obvious.

Once upon a time, Inuyasha had never, ever thought that he would feel comfortable revealing his time of weakness to another living person, but now, the three people that he trusted with his life were aware of it, and he did not feel afraid to know that they knew. Miroku and Sango, they would never betray his secret. It had been necessary to tell Miroku long ago, actually, since at certain times it interfered with his availability, like tonight. Not that he would've wanted to go to that stupid party, anyway, although he would have, had Miroku insisted upon it, so it was definitely because their boss knew _why _he legitimately couldn't go, beyond merely having 'plans' with Kagome, that had enabled him to get out of it so easily. Inuyasha had felt wary, at first, back when he'd initially revealed his weakness to Miroku, back when he'd told the holy man of his 'limited availability' on the job at certain times, but the houshi had earned his trust since then, keeping the secret to himself. He hadn't even told Sango, in all the years they'd worked together; it wasn't until after the two were wed that Inuyasha had finally given the monk permission to let her know. On the one hand he'd figured it wouldn't be right asking the guy to keep a secret from his wife, even though the secret wasn't about himself. Hypothetically should Sango ever have asked Miroku why he had to cover a nighttime event on his behalf, Inuyasha had not wanted to put his boss in the predicament of either having to betray his trust or lie to Sango, and so he'd freed him of the burden, deciding he could trust the slayer. Especially since she also happened to be Kagome's best friend. And on the other hand, _especially _since she was also Kagome's best friend, he had also figured that Kagome would probably rather not feel restricted in her happy girl time chitty-chats with the taijiya, either, having to conscientiously tiptoe around the subject, and so as long as it was a _private _conversation that nobody could overhear then he'd decided he didn't mind it if his miko girlfriend talked about their new moon adventures with _her _best girlfriend. To that day neither the houshi nor part-time slayer had ever _seen _his human form, though. That special honor was reserved solely for Kagome alone. He trusted her with _more_ than just his life; he trusted her with his heart, and really, that was the part of him that was the most vulnerable on this night. He was so much more emotional as a human, and he wasn't devoid of emotions as a hanyou so you could only imagine how much more powerful it got during his 'time of the month'. He'd teased Kagome once that he felt like a PMSing girl on his human nights, which had earned him a playful punch to the arm, although the miko had still laughed, understanding what he'd meant. She'd even meditated with him once, doing that miko trick like how she could do to fully read a person's soul. He'd shared with her his everything, and she would spend the rest of her life giving him _her _everything to make up for it, if he'd let her.

In that moment, as she gazed down at him hungrily, Kagome nodded in approval to note that his left wrist and ankles were already cuffed to the bedposts. Somebody was a good boy... Reaching for the furry, red handcuffs attached to the post beside her, she reached for Inuyasha's right hand with her own and grinned wickedly when he didn't resist her, letting her bind that wrist as well.

Now he was spread out like a big letter X atop their four post bed, and stepping back to admire the view for a moment longer, she then turned and headed for the 'special' dresser drawer. Neither of them having spoken a single word to each other since she got home, words weren't needed as Kagome retrieved her feather tickler. This might be about dominance and submission, but it wasn't about pain. No whips or crops would be marring her lover's perfect flesh. She wasn't into that kind of torture.

She was into _this _kind.

Approaching the foot of the bed, tickler in hand, she had a fabulous view of his excited body lying spread eagle before her. Setting the 'torture' instrument down for a moment, she raised her hands to slowly pull loose the belt holding her robe closed, flashing her playmate a seductive smirk when she caught the way his eyes hungrily followed her hands' every move. Unfastening the cotton garment, she let it slide off her shoulders to pool on the floor at her feet, granting her imprisoned lover a full view of everything he couldn't touch. He grew even more excited at the sight, his aroused body visibly straining, and she winked his way like the wicked tease she was. Picking up the tickler, then, Kagome climbed up onto the foot of the bed, kneeling right on the edge in the center, between his feet. Taking the feather tickler, she delicately began running it up his right leg, twirling it slowly, moving it across the limb from his inner thigh to outer as she reached his hip. His head remained tilted downward to watch her every move, his eyes burning, but he didn't speak, watching in silence as she trailed the small tuft of feathers that adorned the thin wooden dowel in her hand up his leg before deftly bypassing his arousal to swoop across his belly and down the other leg. His ab muscles contracted slightly at the tickling sensation but other than that he didn't move.

The night was young.

She repeated the maneuver several times, her passes with the feather tickler almost whimsically lazy, the miko internally rejoicing at every tiny flinch and contraction of muscle she induced from her slave. Scooting a little closer after a few minutes, the outside of her knees touching his inner thighs, Kagome switched things up by going in reverse, trailing the feathers first up his left leg and across his belly, swirling them around his naval a few times before then traveling down his right leg. She then raised herself up on her knees and slightly bent over him to reach farther, running the feathers along his chest. She could feel the heat of his gaze upon her, and met his eyes with a look in her own that promised she was nowhere near finished with him yet. Raising her left leg and shifting it over his right, she held herself up above his right thigh in a straddling pose except she wasn't touching him, keeping herself raised on her knees and forbidding him even that minor satisfaction. She twirled the feathers around his nipples, going back and forth between the two a few times before then trailing them down his stomach and repeating her earlier tease of circling them around his bellybutton. He tightened his ab muscles again, the strained look on his face giving away how hard he was trying to hold still, trying not to give her that final ounce of control over him even though she already had him bound and helpless. He wouldn't squirm, he wouldn't groan. Not if he could help it, at least. It was all a part of their game. How long could he last before he surrendered to her in that final way?

Suddenly, she reached across him and shifted the feathers to his left armpit.

"Gah! K-knock that off!" he demanded through an involuntarily laugh, breaking the silence between them as he frantically pulled on his bindings, unable to do more than squirm a few inches. He _hated _being tickled!

"And he is the first to speak!" the miko cheered victoriously, ceasing the torture as she cackled wickedly in triumph. Shifting her position back, she knelt between his legs again at the foot of the bed, her butt on her heels.

"Crazy bitch." Inuyasha grumbled good-naturedly as he calmed back down once the tickling stopped, mentally questioning why he always did this to himself.

Inuyasha knew Kagome's initial goal was always to make him speak first, preferably with a fair amount of squirming involved, and she'd pulled that tickle stunt last month after he'd held out on her longer than she'd expected him to. Granted, it'd been an hour in on her ministrations that time, but he should've known she'd do it again at _some _point. Next month he would just pretend to lose it right away and hopefully spare himself some of the torment.

_She's a crazy bitch, but I love her_...

He was pulled from his musing when Kagome's stern voice chimed back up. "Is that any way to speak to the woman who holds your pleasure in her hands?" she asked with mock reprimand, hands on her hips as she towered over him, having raised herself back up on her knees at his words.

He had to pry his eyes away from her perfect body in order to focus on composing a reply, tilting his head back to gaze at the ceiling for a moment as he spoke with feigned bravado, unwilling to hand over complete control _just _yet.

"Keh...you ain't got nothing in your hands, yet. Once you _do _hold my 'pleasure' in your hands I'll speak to you however you want me to."

Kagome tsked. "Keep speaking to me like _that _and I'll leave you hanging all night." she chastised, before getting off the bed and heading back over to her special dresser drawer.

His eyes widened at the sight of the black leather 'ring' she produced.

_When the hell did she buy that? _

Kagome did a mental victory dance at the look of surprise on his face, and without hesitation she reached for her prize as she knelt back on the bed between his legs again, fitting the leather band snugly around him. He groaned at the brief, teasing contact, and then stared in horror at his newest binding. She then reclaimed her tickler and proceeded to dance the feathers slowly and softly across his strained, purple flesh, relishing in the faint grunt that escaped his lips as his hips writhed ever so slightly when she flicked the feathers rapidly back and forth across his tip, like a miniature feather duster.

He was a very dirty boy, so she needed to clean him off, she thought to herself with a mental chuckle at her own silliness.

A spot of moisture dampened the feathers after a couple of minutes, and frowning playfully, Kagome tossed the tickler aside then, quickly deciding it was time to move on, anyway. Slowly, she lowered her mouth to his right inner thigh and stuck out her tongue, dragging it across his heated flesh a moment before then puckering her lips and blowing. She repeated the move a couple more times, moving higher up each time, although her mouth remained deftly away from the area where he wanted it most. Unable to watch any longer, Inuyasha allowed his head to flop back against the bed again, another quiet groan escaping him, though this time it was from the knowledge that his torture had really only just begun. It was going to be a _long _night.

Teasing his left inner thigh in the same fashion, Kagome then crawled over him, careful to avoid touching his aching manhood, as she maneuvered herself to sit somewhat slouched down with her legs folded underneath herself by his left side. Leaning forward, she began trailing her tongue along his abs and ribs before heading further north and circling her tongue around his left nipple, which quickly pebbled under her touch. Smirking knowingly against his chest, she suckled his mammilla for a moment before gently biting down, earning another faint grunt from the man. She then pulled back slightly and blew cool air over the moist skin before pealing her lips back and sticking out her tongue again, flicking the tip of her tongue across the hardened bead of flesh. Finishing with that, she continued upward still and captured his neck, Inuyasha obediently tilting his head in the opposite direction to grant her better access as she licked and sucked, biting only hard enough to pinch without marring the skin before then soothing the sting with another lap of her tongue. Shifting to his shoulder next, she continued to trail teasing love bites and open-mouthed kisses to his hot flesh, following his arm up to where it was bound to the bedpost by their adult store novelty cuffs. Reversing direction, then, she made it back down to his neck and then shifted her mouth to his chin until finally, after what'd felt like an eternity to the hanyou-turned-human, Kagome _finally_ brought her mouth to his, capturing his lips in a searing kiss.

Kissing her back to the best of his ability, Inuyasha longed for the use of his arms, his hands, wishing he could tangle his fingers into her hair, wishing he could crush her to him and take over control. But even as a part of himself so desperately wished it, another part of him, he had to admit, found being bound and helpless as he currently was totally exhilarating. Kagome kissed him long and hard, using her right hand to fist _his _hair while her left made its way over to his neglected nipple. Pinching, he cried out into the kiss, the sensation somehow both painful and pleasurable at the same time as his neglected nether region wept in solitude, Kagome's talented mouth swallowing the sound of his moans and cries. His entire body was wound tight; everywhere she touched him, it felt like fire. Perhaps it was because he lost the strength of his other senses as a human. Either his skin actually became more sensitive as a mortal or it merely seemed that way because on an instinctive level he relied more heavily on touch, but either way, as Kagome hooked her left leg across him, shifting her weight and straddling him, she was like a molten blanket of pleasure personified everywhere their bodies touched.

He could feel her heat, resting just above where he wanted it. As Kagome continued to kiss him, she began rocking herself against him slightly, and he could also feel her eagerness, even as his own excitement nudged her from behind a couple of times. He realized then, this was almost as torturous for her as it was for him.

Almost.

Sort of.

Not quite.

At least she got to use her hands.

Mentally chuckling, Kagome moved both of her hands to the sides of his head and began fondling his human ears. He groaned into the kiss, his hips giving a little jump, and she chuckled in amusement between kisses. She'd discovered long ago that even as a human his ears were still very sensitive to touch, and even though she personally preferred the exotic appearance of his hanyou ears, to know that messing with his human ones also sent tingles down his spine was a good enough reason for her. Breaking the kiss after a moment, mostly because they both needed air, she then trailed her tongue down along the right side of his throat for a moment before then coming back up and planting delicate kisses on his chin, cheek, temple, and then she was nibbling on his right ear, sucking on his lobe as he hissed. She smirked against him, and then stuck her tongue in his ear.

"Gah!" he cried out again, his entire body arching as much as his bindings would allow in an attempt to throw her off of him. "S-stop that!"

Pulling back and looking down into his eyes with amusement sparkling in her own, the miko laughed.

"Damn it, Kagome, I'm turning blue over here." Inuyasha whined pathetically then, giving his hips another miniscule bounce, and his tone of voice was music to _her _ears.

Slipping off of him to his right side, Kagome turned around and observed that part of him, her look contemplative. She then climbed back over him, but in reverse, facing his arousal, her own womanhood not far from his face, but out of range thanks to his bindings. Even as a human with such a dramatically weakened sense of smell, her fragrance was divine; clean and inviting. Draping her legs over him as she was, straddling his chest, she leaned forward and reached her hands out to either leg, massaging his thighs, once again careful to avoid touching what he wanted her to even though it was only inches from her face. He could feel her breath on him, and he whimpered, the sound surprisingly similar to what his hanyou vocal cords would be better able to produce. Ignoring him, at first, she continued to knead the muscles of his outer thighs, although she slowly but surely worked her hands lower, from her perspective, which was higher along his body until she reached his hips. She then sat up some, sitting on his chest, coating him with her own excitement, and finally, _finally_, she reached for his with her right hand, wrapping her fingers gently around him.

He moaned in appreciation, his hips shifting the slight amount he could shift them to show her his gratitude as she finally began touching him as he wanted her to, even though her touches were slower and softer than what he'd really prefer. He wasn't about to complain, knowing she'd release him entirely if he did. Her touches weren't enough to truly satisfy, but they were taking the edge off.

"Kami, I love you so fucking much." he grumbled out, his tone of voice both strained and rejoiceful.

Choosing not to reply with words, Kagome remained silent as she worked him, shifting her left hand to join her talented right as she took her time, massaging his most sensitive flesh slowly and with purpose. Spreading his moisture, a few times she sped up, for only a few seconds, just enough to excite him further, and then she slowed back down again, robbing him of his high. She wanted to bring him gradually closer and closer to that edge without ever allowing him to fall from it, and that was what she accomplished when twenty minutes later had Inuyasha so primed and ready she was hardly touching him with the lightest pressure of fingertips and every muscle in his body was taut, ready to snap.

He felt like crying.

_Damn it, I want to cum! _ he thought, knowing she could feel his desperation through her miko senses. Unfortunately, the little witch was using her gift to make _sure _she didn't accidentally let him tumble.

The bitch.

Gods how he loved her.

He nearly lost it when she suddenly bent forward and closed her mouth around him.

"Gah!"

And then she released him.

"D-damn it, K'gome...please!"

_Ah, the magic word_... the miko thought, mentally laughing in triumph yet again.

Flinging herself off to the side, she quickly rearranged herself, before he could do much more than whimper at the loss of contact, and then Kagome was kneeling over his left upper thigh, almost directly above his groin. Her left knee was inches from his bum, her left leg running parallel to his own with her right knee against his left hip. Turning her head to meet his gaze, her blue-gray orbs seemingly flashed with lightning, her miko powers crackling around her like a thunderstorm was raging inside her soul. The way she was holding herself above him, only the tiniest of shifts would be needed and they could join. His chocolate eyes met her steady gaze, his look crazed, desperate, begging. She had inflicted no genuine injury but still his body was in so much pain. So much, and he desperately needed release, the relief only _she _could give him. Like a medieval prison warden taking pity on a wretch who'd received too many lashes, Kagome's eyes softened, then, and shifting herself into the necessary position, resting her right leg gently across his strong belly with her right foot planted on the mattress by his side while shifting most of her weight onto her left knee, she lowered herself down over him sideways, her head turned to watch his expression every inch of the way.

"AhhMmmm..." he grunted as they joined, flinching, biting his lip, breathing heavily through his nose while clenching and unclenching his fists. It was a wonder he didn't lose it right then and there.

The angle was a little odd for Kagome, but it didn't take her long to get the hang of it. She couldn't move very fast, but she didn't want to, still into the idea of torturing him with agonizingly slow strokes, which was exactly what she did, using her mind's eye to read how close he was getting to his peak and always making sure to cease all motion before he got there.

_Gods fucking damn it! _ the hanyou-turned-human raged in his mind, trying and failing to thrust his hips.

He hadn't thought it would be possible to get even closer to the cliff face than where she'd already pushed him, believing that the slightest nudge would have him toppling over, but he'd been wrong. He had been right on the edge before, but he'd still been on his feet, keeping his balance, peering over the precipice warily but in no true danger of falling. Now, she'd shoved him, and he'd tripped, but then she'd caught him before he could fall, holding him over the ravine, his feet dangling, and her grip wasn't slipping. She had complete control, and could still pull him up and away from the cliff if she wanted to, preventing his fall, or she could release him and let him drop at any moment. The choice was hers.

He didn't want her to save him; he wanted her to let him fall, and Kagome knew it. Slowly, agonizingly so, she raised and lowered herself, once. Her own body was screaming at her to move, to shift position into something more pleasing for her and go to town, but she knew her temporarily human lover didn't have the capacity to give her the punishment her own body craved, anyway. So she would postpone the majority of her own physical enjoyment until morning. In the meantime, she was finding their game very, _very _pleasurable in another way.

Making a pseudo-crying sound, the type of frustrated vocalization one makes when they simply can't take it anymore but no tears are actually falling, Inuyasha finally reached the breaking point, his face scrunched up in total agony.

"Gods, please...please Kagome just _move_, I need to cum, _please!" _

Hearing him beg like that, it sent shivers down her spine. Shifting her right leg again, she planted her foot on the other side of him, shifting her left leg and foot as well so that she was squatting. Raising herself up some and reaching down between her legs, she unsnapped the leather band he wore and tossed it free, earning a hiss and then sigh of relief from the man, and then leaning forward over his right leg slightly and placing her hands on the mattress for balance, she immediately got to work. It only took a few seconds before Inuyasha started gasping and grunting, almost yelping in time with her movements, his voice a full octave higher than usual.

"F-f-f_uckkkkkkk_..." he groaned, every nerve in his body on fire, every muscle wound tight to the point of snapping, his arms and legs burning from their restrained angle though he didn't care as white hot sensory overload started from where they were connected and then spread out over the rest of him like the precursor to a super nova.

And then, he exploded.

Crying out in a bizarre, high-pitched combination of a roar and a scream, Inuyasha's soul was on fire as ecstasy cascaded over him and rendered him paralyzed, wrought sensation stripping him of his sense of self, his very existence consisting of nothing but pure, unadulterated euphoria. Kagome stayed the course, ignoring his sobs when he suddenly started pleading with her to _stop _moving, continuing until she felt him begin to slacken, his human body spent. Glancing his way over her shoulder, then, she flashed him a look that was both sultry and amused. He was too sated to feel embarrassed about the spectacle he'd made of himself, the first thought to creep into his mind as some of his blood returned to his head being that he no longer hated turning human once a month.

_Fuck no, I __love__ turning human_... he thought drunkenly as his body hummed in satisfaction. _And I love Kagome_...

"You gonna untie me now, Wench?" he asked finally, breaking the silence.

Smirking at the nickname, Kagome raised herself off of him, earning a hiss from the temporarily human hanyou as their bodies separated and cold air hit him. Reaching for his feet, first, she ripped open the Velcro on the novelty cuffs, freeing his ankles, even though he didn't move. Then, crawling back over him, she reached for and freed his wrists one by one, and he grunted in mild discomfort as he tested moving his arms, bringing them both down to wrap gently around her back, holding her to him in a tender, loving embrace, as she lied spread out on her belly across his own.

"Just let me catch my breath for a few..." he murmured against her hair, and she chuckled, snuggling against him.

She knew he wouldn't fall asleep on her. The rule was that he got his pleasure first, when she felt like it – she smirked at the thought – but that _afterwards_, it was her turn. He probably wouldn't put her in the cuffs until morning; he _was _only human at the moment and his exhausted body could certainly use a rest after all that. But there was one thing he couldn't do as a hanyou, one thing he would definitely do before allowing sleep to claim him for a while, and encouraging Kagome to roll off of him to his left side in that moment, he shifted his own body onto his side slightly before reaching over to start playfully fondling a breast with his right hand, tweaking a nipple before slinking his fingers further down her body.

Reaching his destination, the way Kagome sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes in pleasure, rolling onto her back and opening her legs to grant him better access, had Inuyasha grateful for his human transformations all over again. There wasn't a clipper or file in existence that could tame his impervious hanyou claws, but as a human he didn't mind cutting them down to the quick because once he turned hanyou again they would regenerate in an instant.

"So beautiful..." he murmured lovingly, as he explored the body he knew so well by that point, Kagome's hips writhing slowly in time with his teasing touches.

It was going to be a _long _night.

oooOoooOoooOooo

Arriving at the office Christmas party arm in arm, Kagome and Inuyasha both chuckled as this year's hostess greeted them; Rin was wearing a cute red and white Santa-esque Christmas dress topped by Miroku's homemade mistletoe cap from the year before.

"Careful, that's just asking for trouble." Kagome teased the eighteen-year-old, gesturing to the hat.

"I can handle it." Rin replied with a wink, which caused Inuyasha to send his girlfriend a playful smirk that she returned, before releasing Kagome's arm and leaning forward to lick Rin across the cheek, causing the teenager to squeal in surprise and rub at her cheek frantically with the palm of her hand.

"_Ewwwww_...dog kisses." Rin complained good-naturedly, earning another laugh from the hanyou and miko. They'd gotten kind of close to the girl over the last year, so she was definitely up there on their 'friends' list as far as joking around and teasing went.

Biding Rin a playful farewell-for-now, they left the teenaged assistant to her self-appointed job as greeter while making their way into the rest of the party Heading over to the table where everyone was leaving their Secret Santa gifts, first, Kagome found a place to stick her finished sketch while Inuyasha stuck his box, addressed to Sango, elsewhere on the table. He had never actually revealed to Kagome in advance that he'd picked the slayer, but she'd seen the older woman's name on the label when they'd been getting ready to leave the apartment and he'd retrieved the gift from wherever he'd previously hidden it. She would admit it, she'd been nosy, deliberately looking at the box when he'd tried to hold it discreetly in his hand as they were heading out the door. Even though everyone knew who Kagome'd picked, because of the nature of her present and the knowing recipient having happily told everybody, Inuyasha had refused to tell her whose name he'd drawn when she'd originally asked, playfully reminding her that it was called _Secret _Santa for a reason and that she'd find out when the recipient found out. He'd also refused to tell her _what _he'd gotten for whomever, no matter how many times the miko had playfully teased and begged. The idea of shopping for a friend or coworker, it was still a relatively new concept for the hanyou, and honestly, Kagome was thrilled that he was suddenly so into it, and so into obeying the rules of the game, even if it did irk her a little because he was _so _good at following those pesky rules. She chuckled at the thought. It was times like those when she really wished she could read minds rather than just vague flashes of emotion, because all the secrecy she'd picked up from her hanyou boyfriend whenever she'd questioned him hadn't done her a lick of good. He'd told her to her face that it was a secret he wouldn't reveal to her, so he certainly hadn't been lying about anything.

When she'd noticed a short while ago just whose name was actually on the package it'd suddenly made a little more sense to the miko, since she'd figured that he might've feared that she'd break down and tell Sango he'd picked her, but even then when she'd questioned him about what was in the box during the drive over he'd still told her with a smirk that she'd just have to wait and see, keeping his answers as vague as possible. Pouting playfully in that moment as she stared at the present in question, Kagome couldn't wait to see what it was, knowing her friend and boss hadn't arranged it on purpose. Sango had decided to be in charge of the Secret Santa herself that year, instead of assigning it to somebody else, but Kagome knew there was just no way she would've rigged it like she herself had done the previous year. That just didn't make any sense. No, Inuyasha had just lucked out, picking one of their closest friends, and she for one was glad that he hadn't been forced to buy something for one of the few people who weren't as thrilled with the idea of their relationship as their closer friends were. Come to think of it, Kagome was glad that _she _hadn't drawn the name of one of the few people who didn't approve of her being with Inuyasha, either. That would've sucked. She shuddered at the thought briefly, but then shaking it off and officially putting the gift exchange out of her mind for the time being, Kagome joined Inuyasha over by the infamous punch bowl, Sango and Miroku already there with cups in hand, regaling the hanyou with the latest in-house gossip.

The evening went by wonderfully, everyone having a good time laughing and goofing off. Kagome did her little ditty to Santa Baby, of course, but she missed the glance shared between Sango and her boyfriend when she got to the part of the song about wanting a ring, the miko singing to nobody in particular during that verse as she tried to pay equal attention to all her male coworkers. Inuyasha didn't mind it, they could look but they could _not _touch; she was all his and they knew it and so for that reason he wasn't going to be an ass and make her stop her traditional little song and dance. It was all in good fun, after all.

Of course, if Kagome had her way she'd sing the entire song to Inuyasha alone, _especially _the part about a ring, but she had deliberately avoided it in order to avoid what could've been an awkward moment between them in front of everybody, especially given the fact that some people still teased them about it. She was just glad that he hadn't objected when Sango had asked her if she was still going to do the song, ready to put it on on the radio but wanting to double-check first.

After it was over everyone went back to chatting amongst themselves in various groups scattered throughout the office, a lot of people hanging out either by the punch bowl or the back table full of buffet type snacks and finger foods, until somebody announced that it was time for presents and everybody gathered together once again, this time around the gift exchange table covered in brightly colored bags and boxes. No one person was in charge of handing out the gifts, so just like last time everyone pretty much dug in, most people searching exclusively for their own name though some people did politely pass a gift off if it happened to belong to one of the people close by. A lot of people also reached for the gifts that they themselves had actually brought, personally handing them over to the recipient in order to give it a more personable feel. That was what Kagome did in that moment, as she retrieved her sketch and found the in-house photographer, who had just passed the gift he'd purchased off to the person whose name _he'd _drawn. He turned then and greeted Kagome with a huge grin, having been on proverbial pins and needles for the last two weeks waiting to see what she'd draw for him. He absolutely loved it, of course.

During all the mayhem, Kagome managed to notice out of the corner of her eye, mostly because she'd actually been scanning the crowd for it, when Sango received her present, and she was confused when she noticed the senior editor opening a gift other than the one Inuyasha had bought for her. That couldn't be right...and where was Inuyasha, anyway? She'd lost him in all the craziness, not that she blamed him for standing back, knowing how he felt about large, wild crowds. Finally finding her hanyou after the in-house photographer wandered off to happily show off his gift to his own closest friends, Kagome grinned a little at the sight of Inuyasha bashfully thanking one of their computer graphics designers for his own present. He had only gotten the hanyou a gift card, but hey, just the fact that he'd been included in the gift exchange, that a fellow coworker had actually purchased something for him, that really meant a lot to Inuyasha. You could see it in his eyes. He knew he didn't really share all that much about himself to most people, so what do you get for the guy you know absolutely nothing about, right?

Although, if you were _really _observant, an appropriate gift would reveal itself, and Inuyasha actually thought the graphics artist had done a pretty good job. Truthfully, he thought a gift card to one of the nicer haberdasheries in town was a very thoughtful present. While he preferred to keep it casual when out on the street, jeans and hoodies, he always dressed business appropriate in the office. He wouldn't mind treating himself to a new shirt or pair of pants.

Feeling Kagome's eyes upon him, Inuyasha pocketed the gift card for the time being, figuring he could think more on that subject later. Meeting his girlfriend's gaze, then, he could easily read her confusion. He didn't even need his sense of smell, which was a good thing since it was a little overpowered at the moment, although really Kagome's scent was standing out above the crowd just fine. Just like she would be able to pick out the feel of his demonic aura in a room full of youkai he too could instantly find her scent in the largest of crowds, the rest of the crazy, white noise mesh of smells all fading away into the background unnoticed as he focused on her and her alone.

Kami, how he loved her, and he would make sure she knew it, too. She wouldn't be confused for very much longer.

Approaching where Kagome was standing, box addressed to Sango in hand, Inuyasha waited until he was standing right in front of Kagome, and then looking down at the box he held with a sheepish grin, he reached for the label that said the slayer's name and tore it away.

Kagome's eyes widened.

"Told you it was a surprise." he told her with a light, teasing edge to his voice. "I never lied to you, never told you it was for Sango, you just assumed."

Well, he had her there, although what _else_ was she supposed to think from him having labeled it that way?

"And just what would've happened had Sango found it and opened it?" she asked, her voice half curious and half a challenge.

He smirked.

"Oh, she knew my gift wasn't for her." he replied, and Kagome's eyebrows went up.

_She __did__ rig the gift exchange! _Kagome realized in surprise, figuring out quickly enough that Inuyasha and Sango must have been plotting this behind her back, whatever 'this' was. She thought she might know, but didn't want to jump to conclusions. The box was awfully large, after all. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute.

Inuyasha handed her the box, which was about the size of a volleyball, give or take.

By this point nearly all eyes were on them, the few people who'd noticed first quickly getting everyone else's attention with a gesture towards the hanyou and miko, not that either said hanyou or miko minded it as Inuyasha focused solely on Kagome's fluctuating scent and the sound of her frantic heartbeat as she slowly unwrapped her present. Opening the box revealed a bunch of stuffing, at first, like the cotton balls that filled up over the top half of a prescription bottle. Digging around, she found nothing but stuffing; was there even anything in there? She sent Inuyasha a questioning look.

"Keep going." he encouraged.

Finally, down at the bottom of the much-larger-than-it-needed-to-be box, she felt something, and pulling it out, she gasped at the sight of the small, black velvet jewelry box, the larger cardboard box it'd been concealed within dropping out of her hands to crash lightly on the floor, spilling its packaging. Searching out Inuyasha's eyes with her own, she was shocked all over again when she suddenly realized he was no longer standing, but rather, he was looking up at her from his place before her down on bended knee.

The room grew so quiet you could hear a pin drop, the music turned off yet again, and even the people who felt sorry for Kagome, thinking her life was going to be unnecessarily difficult married to a hanyou, could not deny the absolute purity of love reflecting back and forth in the hanyou and miko's eyes as they gazed at one another.

"Kagome..." he spoke up then, the entire room clinging to his every word. "When we first agreed to give having a relationship a try you'd said you weren't asking me to marry you, yet, but that you just wanted to take our relationship one day at a time to see if something more permanent might develop, and I'd agreed, and it was the best decision of my life. At that time, we knew we couldn't honestly plan too far ahead into the future. Who knew if we were compatible or not? But this last year as your boyfriend has been the happiest year of my life, and after sharing my apartment with you, and bathroom..." A lot of their male coworkers chuckled at that part. "...I know that I _don't _miss my solitary existence, and I can never fathom my life without you in it. You'd boldly mentioned the M word on our first date, reassuring me that you _weren't _asking me to marry you, 'yet' you'd stated, acknowledging that maybe...one day... Well, that day is here, and I _am _asking you to marry me. Will you? Will you continue to make me the happiest hanyou on the planet?"

Kagome could hardly see through the tears in her eyes. Curse him for being an articulate writer! How was she supposed to formulate a coherent response when all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms and sob like an idiot? She finally settled for somewhere in between, as she wordlessly opened the ring box to spy the _gorgeous _diamond engagement ring held within. He definitely hadn't obeyed the fifty dollar spending limit. Dropping down to her own knees, then, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him for all he was worth, quickly earning his own embrace as he wrapped his arms around her in return.

"Of _course _I'll marry you!" she cried out joyously, deliberately loud enough for their onlookers to hear, and the crowd erupted into joyous cheers, hoots and hollers.

Rising to his feet and hoisting Kagome up with him, steadying her on shaky legs, he reached for both sides of her face with his hands and planted a massive kiss right on her lips, not giving a fuck about who was watching or that he'd used to be such a reserved, quiet person when it came to any outward expression of emotion. Whistles and playful catcalls to get a room had them breaking apart with mild splashes of blush on their cheeks, but just about everyone at the party was genuinely happy for them, and that was a reaction they could both sense, Inuyasha with his nose and Kagome with her ability to feel a person's soul.

Reaching for the open ring box in his fiancée's right hand, Inuyasha pulled out the ring with his left and reached for Kagome's left hand with his right, slipping the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit, of course, since he'd had it sized. Sango had given him the best advice ever, when he'd braved approaching the woman, needing her help, telling her how he'd wanted to surprise Kagome with a traditional proposal despite how openly they'd discussed the possibility of one day getting married back when they'd first gotten together. She'd told him to sneak-size another ring Kagome already had, the miko occasionally wearing a costume jewelry ring on her right ring finger. That had been an easy enough task with Kagome's jewelry box residing in his bedroom and the miko always working in the office with him usually out on the street; he'd just taken some time off of 'work' once to sneak her ring to a jewelry store during the process of picking out her engagement ring. The slayer had also helped him by leaving Kagome's name out of the Secret Santa name draw, so that he could be the one who'd 'picked' her, though when he'd told Sango that he didn't want Kagome to see the package addressed to herself and get suspicious beforehand Sango had also agreed that he could address the package to her, instead, and telling Sango what it looked like, she'd known that that gift _wasn't _really for her when she saw it on the table, reaching instead for the other gift she'd found with her name on it. So maybe it hadn't been as elaborate a plan as some other guys' proposals; he hadn't hired a sky writer, hadn't rented a teleprompter; hadn't led Kagome down a path paved in rose petals at the beach to his proposal written in the sand...but looking at the way she was gazing at him in that moment, Inuyasha knew he hadn't needed to do any of those things.

Kagome was absolutely beside herself, staring at the ring on her finger in awe and wonder. While she'd hoped, suspected even, that the two of them would one day get married, she had thought that it would be something he would just broach the subject of one day, or, if she got brave enough, then she had even been prepared to breech the subject herself, when the moment had felt right. After all, they'd discussed every other aspect of their relationship beforehand, agreeing to take the stages slowly, taking logic into consideration every step of the way. She had expected that, regardless of whichever one of them initially brought the topic up, that they would ultimately end up discussing the idea of marriage together calmly and rationally, and (hopefully) he would have agreed that he felt they were ready to take that next step, that their 'trial run' had been successful and so yes, he did want to spend the rest of his life with her. But Kagome had _not _been expecting him to keep it a secret, to spring a more traditional proposal on her; what was better than the annual Secret Santa gift exchange? Especially considering how she'd used this same party the year before to initially make her feelings known to him, and all of their coworkers. Glancing around in that moment, Kagome only saw smiling faces, most people having finally gotten back to whatever it was they'd been doing though several of them raised up the drink in their hand when they caught her looking their way, offering the miko a nod and smile of congratulations; she smiled back. What was better than the Secret Santa, indeed. So maybe their feelings weren't exactly a secret by that point, and several people had believed it was only a matter of time before they made it official, herself included, but that didn't matter to the miko. He had just given her the best Christmas present ever, and she didn't mean the actual ring on her finger, although it was one hell of a ring.

_I can't wait to show Mama! _she thought excitedly then, glancing down at the ring one more time before then looking back up into the eyes of the man who had given it to her.

"I love you so much." she murmured quietly, knowing his canine ears would have no trouble picking up her softly spoken words even now that the music was blaring again and other people were talking and laughing again all around them.

They had so many things to discuss and plan now, like whether or not they would move into a larger apartment someday and whether or not they ever wanted to adopt a child, not to mention planning the actual wedding itself, but Kagome knew that there would be plenty of time to fuss over the details later. All she cared about in that moment was that moment, and the man murmuring his own love for her in her ear as he pulled her into yet another embrace before finally suggesting they rejoin the rest of the party. Agreeing, Kagome reluctantly pulled out of Inuyasha's embrace, and then finding where Sango and Miroku had gotten to, they joined their friends, hand in hand.

~ Fin ~


End file.
